Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright...
I purchase all of my feeder rodents, always have. After last year's breeding season, I took a look at my rodent bill and decided to try find a way to cut back.in previous years I have followed conventional wisdom, feeding females as much as they can eat every 3-4 days. After I perused Mader's and Rossi's books, over the last year and a half I have used the metabolic rate formula that they describe to help determine feeding routines for all of my snakes (kings and pines): ten times the animal's body weight(in kilograms)to the 0.75 power. The result is I am feeding males four 50g rats a month. With the females I added a little to compensate for reproductive costs, but I am feeding nowhere near as much as I have in previous breeding seasons: typically six 50g rats per female over the course of a month. This is the first breeding season that I have done this for, but I have seen increased clutch size and fertility (see clutch size post below) across the board. I will continue to practice this for future breeding seasons to see if the trend holds. Is more better? Many people have success with this method, myself included, but if I can meet the metabolic and reproductive needs of my animals with fewer rodents (reduce the risk of obesity, possibly other maladies) I am for it. I am lucky to break even/ gain a few dollars in this hobby, so there are financial benefits as well ( don't get me wrong- animal care is #1 with me - no one comes close to starving around here).

Let's here it, pros and cons.

Dave

P.S.-
there are charts posted in the articles section at rodentpro.com that I have used to determine the energy and nutritive content of of feeder animals.

DB

Sounds like solid thinking to me Dave. I posted a couple of weeks ago on the Indigo forum about how much food they give their females. Seems there are alot of eggbinding cases in Indigos this year and wondered if obesity is a factor . I got one response from Dean the others either didnt know or blew it off but I think it is a factor . Good post Dave !

Keith

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My method for determining feed schedules has always been waiting until poop comes and then counting back to when I fed last. Then I use this schedule on that individual snake until I notice a change. This is only while they are growing though. I use the same method for adults but I usually let them sit with an empty belly for three or four days. How does your method compare to this? I guess I won't have an opinion until I know. Thanks. Sorry for answering with a question.